ABSTRACT
United States atomic bombing of Hiroshima and testing in the north Pacific produced large amounts of scientific data that were largely suppressed until they were declassified in the 1990s. Contamination of food sources has been sparsely addressed, thus delaying our understanding of the link between radioactive fallout, contaminating radioisotopes and radiation sickness, and other health issues related to ingested radioactive contaminants. The suppression of data that were recorded, together with the abstruse measurements and language used by health physicists, has thus retarded our learning about ingested radiation. While the secrecy surrounding the US military preparedness programme for the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s may be justified politically, it has major bearing on humanitarian concerns, especially for the health and well-being of future generations. The invisible effects of radioactive contamination of food, and their delayed health problems, have left many feelings of uncertainty about nuclear concerns and radioactivity.
